Raheel’s optimism on Balochistan

ON the second leg of his farewell visits, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif Tuesday visited Balochistan and while addressing troops of Southern Command and Frontier Corps, he once again underlined the significance of CPEC and Gwadar port saying these would usher in a new era of hope and prosperity in Balochistan. Raheel’s optimism comes from all-out efforts he undertook including raising of special security division during his tenure for successful implementation of mega corridor project. Apart from successes the army has achieved in the war on terror under his command, Raheel Sharif would always be remembered in history for contributions he made to realise the dream of CPEC.
As for Balochistan, we have repeatedly been emphasising in these columns that carrying out development and addressing genuine grievances of local people in the strategically located but neglected province is the way forward to address the precarious situation there. As the province is the centrepiece of CPEC, we expect that dividends of this project would automatically reach the common man and help address the prolonged sense of deprivation of Baloch people. It is appreciable that government in cooperation with China has also planned several projects in order to equip the Baloch youth with necessary skills to take full benefit from economic activities to be generated under the CPEC. With this project, we are sure that fortunes of Baloch people are all set to change but at the same time we would also urge the government to also focus on exploration of rich but hidden natural resources of the province. Due to security reasons, the exploration activities have remained at standstill but now as things stand improved, we hope government would initiate practical steps to excavate this treasure for economic self-reliance. Though India is hatching plots and looking for weak points to disrupt CPEC, but while remaining vigilant, we should keep on the track of development to thwart all its evil designs.